How to be satisfied with a lot less chocolate

Break off a very small piece of chocolate.*

Wait… don’t eat it yet!… hold it at a distance and admire its looks. (Especially fun with an engraved bar, like the ones from Dick Taylor.)

Bring it to your nose and inhale.

Now you can put it in your mouth—and let it slowly melt on your tongue. Don’t chew. Ever.

What do you taste? Fruit? What kind—cherries…raisins…citrus?  Floral? Coffee? Smoke? Acidity, bitterness, sweetness? How does the taste change as the chocolate melts—does it get sweeter, more fruity? What’s the texture—buttery, chalky, crumbly?

Enjoy it as it melts away. (No chewing!) The pleasurable sensation will linger. You may not need to chase it with another piece.

You can get a chocolate bar to last for days this way.

Note: Thanks to Jasdeep and the SF Chocolate Meetup for walking 40 of us through the slow chocolate experience at tonight’s tasting.

*This works best with small-batch, artisanal-type chocolate—beans+sugar, no additives. (Mass-produced chocolate is designed for a quick hit, according to Jasdeep.)

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